An embodiment of the present invention relates generally to the art of taxidermy, and more particularly, to a taxidermy mannequin and a method for manufacturing a taxidermy mannequin.
In the field of taxidermy, most animal skins are mounted over a rigid foam animal form (sometimes referred to as a “mannequin,” “mannequin form,” “taxidermy mannequin” or “taxidermy form”). The animal skins may be from the head of the animal or other parts of an animal carcass. Thus, the taxidermy mannequin may approximate the shape or form of an animal head or any other body part of an animal. More particularly, the taxidermy mannequin takes the place of an animal's skull, bones, tissue, muscles and the like, and generally replicates the shape and form of a particular body part of the animal for supporting the animal's skin or hide thereon. Different taxidermy mannequins are required for different types of animals and animals of different sizes.
Typically, the taxidermy mannequin is in the shape or form of the head of an animal, such as a deer or elk. Accordingly, hereinafter, a description of the taxidermy mannequin according to the present invention is generally set forth with reference to the form for an animal head. However, it will be understood by one skilled in the art that the taxidermy mannequin may have various shapes and forms of different body parts (other than a head) for various types of animals.
Conventionally, to mount an animal skin or hide (not shown) on a taxidermy mannequin to make an animal mount, a taxidermist first removes the animal hide from an animal carcass, tans the animal hide, soaks the animal hide in water to make it pliable, and finally attaches the animal hide to the taxidermy mannequin. More particularly, in the case of the taxidermy mannequin in the shape of an animal head, the animal hide is first removed from the skull of the animal, the removed animal hide is then tanned and soaked in water, the treated animal hide is then stretched around the taxidermy mannequin, and finally the positioned animal hide is glued to the taxidermy mannequin to replicate an animal head. The glue or hide paste used to secure the treated animal hide to the taxidermy mannequin is typically a water-based dextrin or latex glue, as such glues allow the animal hide to be moved to its proper position on the taxidermy mannequin and also secured to the various contours of the taxidermy mannequin. Finally, additional features, such as glass eyeballs, may be added to make the animal mount more lifelike.
Taxidermists may purchase taxidermy mannequins from outside suppliers or they may manufacture their own forms using production molds. To make conventional taxidermy mannequins, such as the taxidermy mannequin 100 shown in FIGS. 1-1A, the taxidermist or the outside supplier typically uses a hollow mold (not shown) in the form of an animal body part (or a portion thereof) and pours or injects a lightweight material 120 into the cavity of the hollow mold. The lightweight material 120 is generally a liquid slurry material that hardens, cures or otherwise sets up in the mold. For example, the lightweight material 120 may be a two-part liquid, expanding rigid polyurethane foam. Such foams include a blowing agent blended into the liquid resins. The blowing agent promotes the foaming or expansion of the liquid resins when they are mixed and also causes the resulting taxidermy mannequin 100 to have a hard external surface, as described below. When the lightweight material 120 cures or hardens, the generally rigid taxidermy mannequin 100 is removed from the mold. The finished taxidermy mannequin 100 takes the shape of an animal body part (particularly an animal head) and is strong, but lightweight. The taxidermy mannequin 100 can then be cut, rasped, filed or otherwise easily reshaped to approximate the different shapes and sizes of individual animals.
The resulting taxidermy mannequin 100 has an interior made of the lightweight material 120 (i.e., expanded polyurethane foam) and an external surface 110. The external surface 110, which was in contact with the inner surface of the mold, is generally slick or waxy and is in the form of a hardened skin. Such characteristics of the external surface 110 are a result of separate conditions in the conventional manufacturing process. Specifically, due to the properties of conventional urethane foam, when the form 100 is removed from the mold, its external surface 110 is a shiny, hardened, and water-resistant surface or skin. The external surface 110 is harder and smoother than the interior 120 of the taxidermy mannequin 100.
The hard external surface 110 of the taxidermy mannequin 100 is a desirable characteristic. However, the slick or waxy nature of the external surface 110 is problematic for taxidermists, because the glue or hide paste typically used to secure an animal hide to the taxidermy mannequin 100 does not sufficiently adhere to the external surface 110 of the form 100, and thus the animal hide cannot be sufficiently adhered to the taxidermy mannequin 100. Accordingly, taxidermists must further alter the external surface 110 of the taxidermy mannequin 100 by a roughening process, such as sanding, filing, scratching, chemically etching, or otherwise using sandpaper, files, rasps, wire brushes, or other similar tools. The roughened external surface 110 then generally allows the animal hide to adhere more easily to the taxidermy mannequin 100. However, this is a time-consuming and messy process. Further, an improperly prepared taxidermy mannequin 100 can result in improper adhesion between the animal hide and the form 100, which results in a poor quality taxidermy mount.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a taxidermy mannequin which has a hard external surface that does not need to be subsequently treated by a roughening process after being removed from the taxidermy mold. It would also be desirable to provide a method for making such a taxidermy mannequin.
It would also be desirable to provide an improved blowing agent for the liquid urethane foam typically used to make taxidermy mannequins. Freon was used as a blowing agent in the past, but was phased out once it became known that Freon depleted the ozone layer. Less ozone-depleting chemicals were then substituted as blowing agents, but were also mandated to be slowly phased out over time due to health and environmental concerns. Today, the only approved blowing agents are quite expensive and some of the approved blowing agents are flammable. It would therefore be desirable to provide a less expensive and environmentally-friendly blowing agent that would still produce a hard external surface of the taxidermy mannequin.